Orange Beach raises mayor's salary for next term

Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon says he would not take the raise if he is re-elected to another term.

ORANGE BEACH, Alabama -- After a heated debate at the end of a two-hour City Council meeting Tuesday night, the council voted 4-2 to boost the mayor’s salary to $42,000 a year for the next term.

The current salary for the part-time mayor’s post is $30,388.02, and the new salary will go into effect in November, when a new term for a mayor and council begins, according to city officials. By law, the council must vote on a salary change six months prior to a city election, which will be held in August.

Council members Brett Holk and Pattisue Simpson voted against the raise.

"It’s a public servant job," Holk said. "If it’s about the money, it’s a sad thing. Don’t sign up to run for mayor if you’re going to complain about the time you have to put in."

Mayor Pro-tem Jeff Silvers recommended the raise, saying that while the job is part-time, the next mayor will be expected to put in a lot of time with all the projects and issues coming up. The ordinance also included keeping the council’s salary at $13,401.18 for the next term.

Mayor Tony Kennon said if he were blessed to be re-elected mayor, he would not accept the pay increase so it would not appear that he was voting himself a raise.

"Let me make it clear, $42,000 a year for working seven days, 60 hours a week , I think it’s a very simple decision," Kennon said. "I think it’s in the best interest of Orange Beach to do this."

The mayor estimated that Holk put in five hours a week and that averaged out to $50 an hour, compared to what the mayor’s salary and hours averaged — $15 an hour.

"There’s some disparity here," he said. "You need to understand how to fix it."

He suggested Holk write a check for $9,300 a year to the finance director. "You essentially make four times more than the mayor."

He said Ms. Simpson "sat here with righteous indignation" about the 5 percent cost-of-living increase the council was receiving every year. "You can write a check to Clara Myers (finance director) for your 5 percent."

Simpson had wanted to eliminate the cost-of-living increase that had been imposed by a previous council, saying the council should not receive it when the when the city could not afford to give one to the employees.